All Being Well

Today marks the end of the month of Syawal, thus an end to the post-Eid celebrations. I'm guessing that for many Muslims a return to normality will be welcome, pleasant as it is to visit friends and relations.

The day also marked a significant anniversary of a bond in this household, one for which I find myself more thankful than ever, if that were possible. A useful measure of any relationship is the extent to which it promotes growth for the individuals involved and I'm keenly aware of the very specific ways in which that applies to yours truly. It would be embarrassing to try and make any claims about having become a better person over time, especially if it turned out that such claims were just an example of typical self-deception. But in a quiet way I know what I know - and I'm happy to know it. Especially when I know the credit isn't down to me but to a genuinely better half.

We celebrated in a little way in a little place on Arab Street with a cuppa and cakes in the afternoon, and all was well. Very well, indeed.

From Afar

According to Sky News the UK will be indulging in one of its periodic royal junkets over the coming weekend. No one getting married, as far as I know. Just that the present monarch has clocked up an impressive number of years staying alive and this is regarded as a Good Thing.

There are advantages in living in exile and missing this kind of nonsense comes close to the top of the list.

Still Occupied

Today's itinerary: marking, cleaning, socialising. Finally, recovering. 

Not such a bad way to spend time, all in all. We played host in the evening to Nahar, Yati, Boon & Mei, and a rather jolly time was had by all, fueled by excellent nosh from The Missus. No prizes for guessing the MVP in our household. (Though I did a nifty bit of cleaning myself.)

Fully Occupied

It's the first day of the vacation, but I find myself deeply engaged in my second bout of marking for the IBO this year. This time it involves essays as opposed to orals, so the ground is more familiar, though I'm marking a paper I've never been involved in before. 

I'm facing quite a number of scripts and haven't got all that many days to deal with them, so I've set myself quite stiff daily target. Not sure it was wise to take up the offer from the IBO, but I suppose it helps keep me off the streets.

Not Exactly Rational

Another school shooting in the United States. And everyone knows there'll be no real action on gun control. I suppose if you needed an example of craziness on a grand scale, this fits the bill. And, on a slightly smaller but related scale this.

Almost Decided

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about the way, or ways, in which I listen to music. One aspect of my thinking has revolved around the medium through which the music gets to me. I own quite a number of CDs and had it not been for recent developments in technology I suppose I would have been content to continue buying more in my very senior years. But I've found myself growing away from this way of encountering the music I enjoy, particularly over the last couple of years. And this isn't simply due to issues of availability or a change in fashion.

I think I may well have come to the point when I just don't buy anymore CDs and seek to give away some of those I own. Too much of what I've got just sits on various shelves and I don't listen to it. So what's the point?

Well, the point is to listen - and to that end I've sort of vaguely decided (but not quite, if you know what I mean) to play each and every CD, and get close to it. If it doesn't work, then out it goes. I think.

The thing is that I suspect it's going to be impossible to conclusively decide that something I once enjoyed doesn't work anymore when the current version of myself responds in a different way. Case in point: I played the music from Brideshead Revisited yesterday evening, which I haven't listened to for years, and the magical glow that once surrounded it had gone. But what I heard still had a presence for me and, if anything, I was more aware of the harmonic textures involved than ever before. So, will I pass it on to someone who might get more out of it? And who could that be when no one listens to this kind of stuff anymore and no one owns a CD player to spin the thing?

Something Missed

Last week's Poem of the Week in Carol Rumen's excellent feature in the Graun was a particularly astute choice. Thom Gunn's Slow Waker really is a striking example of the poet exploiting his many gifts yet in seemingly relaxed, informal mode. But here's the thing. When I first encountered the poem in my recent read-through of the wonderful Collected Poems it didn't jump out at me as it did last week. I suppose I needed Ms Rumen's telling analysis to help me along. I needed someone else's act of creative attention.

I suppose that's what genuinely fruitful criticism does. It alerts us to what we might fail to register in all the noise.

Dining In Style

Attended a formal dinner this evening for the first time in yonks. Can't say I've missed such events. Fortunately I was in good company so time didn't drag as it's wont to on these occasions - for me, at least.

I know there must be folks somewhere who enjoy this kind of thing, otherwise nobody would bother to organise them. But I struggle to grasp what exactly it is they find to enjoy.

Must be miserable to be the queen, eh?

Just A Thought

The future has a way of arriving when you least expect it. 

Not Much To Play For

Time was that the final day of the English Premier League was a big, often nerve-wracking, occasion. That time seems long, long ago, I'm afraid. Now it doesn't matter to me in the slightest which team wins since neither option is a good one for this on-looker.

I suppose things might turn around in the next decade. They certainly have a way of not standing still. Hope those who triumph today enjoy it while they can. (And if that sounds bitter, it's meant to.)